BLACKOUT; JR [1]

1.2

After we made it to our destination, everybody scrambled to get off the bus, and when I finally did I nearly bumped into Sam, a popular boy from my class who had apparently decided to stop right in front of me. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I carefully stepped around him.

When I passed him, I realised why he had paused; he was staring at our town's witch. Her name was Phoebe, but everybody labelled her as the 'Witch Lady'. She was lurking around the edge of the forest, which was extremely creepy, and I was suddenly wary of any possible encounters I might have with her on the hike today.

Sam, flicking his head in her general direction, spoke to his girlfriend, although he had a slightly bigger audience listening in. I was one of those people. "She freaks me out." He stated, a small from etched on his tanned face.

Shortly after that, our teacher yelled for us to join him by one of the picnic tables in the middle of the area, and Andy stood right beside me with a wide smile on his face. I envied his excitement. Mr Bates began to read out the groups he had so generously selected for us, and I waited anxiously for my own name to be called.

As the man kept reading off his list, I was disappointed to find out I wouldn't be grouped with Andy for today's activities. He was with Felix, Jake, and Sam. He gave me a small wave as he departed, his look of dissatisfaction spreading to my own face.

My name was read last, and to my dismay, I had to spend the day with a girl who disliked me, and a boy who was crushing on her; Madeline and Ryan. Bates then told us where we had to meet for lunch and at what time, and then to grab a compass and a map.

Ryan, who also didn't seem to like me very much, pushed past me and snatched the necessary items from the table.

Our teacher, making one last remark before we began, grinned obnoxiously. "Remember, kids, this is a team building exercise! It's also not a race." I heard somebody scoff behind me, and when I turned I saw that it had been Jake.

Evidently, he disagreed. "It's always a race." He snickered, cracking his knuckles. Felix, who was standing beside him, rolled his eyes.

Then we all started our hike, and even though I didn't really want to agree with Jake, it did feel like a bit of a competition. Despite that, I lagged behind the rest of my team, not wanting to interfere with their plans and just wanting to get to our destination. It wasn't very long before I heard them squabbling, but I had to assume that whatever we did it would be at the discretion of Madeline, because Ryan would just do what she wanted due to his feelings, and I would follow suit without any objection.

After they settled on a direction, I noticed my shoelace was untied. I shouted out to them, not that they were very far away, and crouched down to fix my sneaker. I never heard their reply, and when I stood up I realised why.

They were gone.

My heart rose to my throat, and I abruptly felt the urge to vomit in my moments of panic. Then a disturbing thought crossed my mind; what if they had fallen down the edge of one of these small cliffs? What if they were hurt?

I assessed my surroundings, and when I noticed there were nothing but some footprints that disappeared into the grass, I became aware that they had ditched me. Now, I was standing out in the middle of the Bremin forest, alone, with not materials to help me get back to the class.

Feeling all sorts of betrayal, I began to cry.

It took me a few minutes to regain my composure, but when I did, I decided to travel in the direction we had already been walking in. I had to catch up with either my own team or another one soon enough. I didn't want to go back the way we had come, as I knew I would get lost between all the trees.